Skirting Danger
by Gravekeeper
Summary: In which Akko and Diana engage in a war of attrition fought over absolute territory.
1. Addressing the Situation

_**Skirting Danger**_

 **by Gravekeeper  
**

* * *

They were nearing the summer months and the weather was certainly reflecting that; Diana understood. ' _Still.'_ Really, she did. Their uniforms and tunics were of a fairly thick fabric, and enchanted on top of that against the everyday wear and tear of magical mishaps; the students were, after all, still in their magically formative years. Accidents happened. ' _Still.'_ Diana _got that._ Their over-the-knee boots were sturdy, and certainly a bit on the stuffy side, but they were only worn for certain activities. ' _Still.'_ Diana was well aware that their school wear tended to be rather warm, and yet… ' _Has she always worn her skirt so short?'_

Honestly, it was a such a trivial little thing, especially when one considered the nearly endless list of non-trivial transgressions and affronts against Magic, Luna Nova, Tradition, and Common Decency that Akko willingly and gleefully perpetrated with a cheeky smile on her face and a fire in her eyes.

Diana pinched the bridge of her nose and suppressed a sigh; Akko was a wonderful person with a heart big enough to love all of humanity. She would surely become a splendid witch in her own time; Diana was as sure of that as she was when she first told the shorter girl that she believed in her believing heart. Currently, however, Akko still had a ways to go before she could append such superlatives to her name. ' _Perhaps when she's able to perform alchemy indoors without a dedicated fire crew at the ready.'_

Diana crossed her arms as her eyes briefly returned to the subject at hand; ' _Utterly ridiculous; I really must address this for my own peace of mind.'_ Diana was becoming somewhat concerned over how often her thoughts strayed to that scandalous skirt and those equally scandalous legs; how Akko managed to eat like she did and still remain so lithe and petite was nothing short of, well, _magical._ Perhaps Akko hadn't noticed how much leg she showed? Diana knew from first-hand experience how perceptive her friend could be for some things and abysmally unobservant for others; perhaps Akko just never realized that every time she sat down she came so very close to showing off a lot more than just her toned legs.

...Not that Diana _wanted_ to see more than just Akko's toned legs. Or see her legs _at all;_ Diana was just... concerned. Concerned and detail-oriented. It was completely natural to be more aware of Akko's legs, eyes, smiles, _everything_ now that they'd spent so much time together. In the weeks after the Noir Missile Crisis, Diana had found Akko to be an interesting, entertaining companion; their camaraderie had truly blossomed into something that Diana had come to treasure and actively yearn for in the short periods of time they spent apart. The Red, Blue, and Green teams had naturally drifted towards each other after their world-saving collaboration and, despite her initial reservations, Diana found that she fit right in with the large group of misfits despite their differences.

Then again, her and Akko were not so different from each other, were they?

Diana's eyes widened as an expanse of pale, healthy thigh flashed by, bringing her out of her reverie and back down to the present. The weather had been perfect, so _The New Nine_ (with Hannah and Barbara substituting in) had gathered out on the south field to have lunch together under the shade of the surrounding woods. Akko, who'd been sitting on the grass next to Diana, had stood and skipped past the blonde, her skirt once again flying dangerously high as she made her way to where Constanze had pulled out her laptop. Diana swallowed as she schooled her features into her naturally stoic facade. Feeling eyes on her, Diana's gaze drifted to meet Amanda's, who sat a bit further away in their loose circle.

" _I know, right?!"_ Amanda silently mouthed at Diana. Her eyebrows were perched high and her eyes bright and wide with mirth. Diana arched an eyebrow herself; Amanda's happiness was something to be extremely wary of.

Amanda quickly flicked her eyes to her left; Diana followed the redhead's gaze, her eyes landing on Akko's retreating form before meeting Amanda's eyes again. Diana blinked in realization; ' _So, she's noticed Akko's distressing manner of dress as well?'_ Diana felt relief wash over her; It was comforting to know someone else shared her _friendly concerns_ over preserving Akko's virtue; in Amanda, Diana had found an ally.

Amanda wagged her eyebrows at Diana, biting her bottom lip rather salaciously. Diana's heart dropped to her stomach as the reality of it all hit her; ' _Is O'Neill... leering at Akko? The very nerve!_ '

In Amanda, Diana had found a _villain._

Well, Diana _definitely_ had a Beatrix-given duty to protect Akko's innocence from wandering eyes! Why, Amanda's conduct often went beyond the pale, but this was something else entirely! Diana rose to her feet, patting her skirt free of grass before resolutely marching towards Akko. She spared Amanda a final, rueful glare as she passed, earning back a " _Go get 'em, Tiger!"_ for her troubles.

"Akko, Constanze," Diana called as she neared the pair sitting on the grass. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but—"

"—Diana!" Akko's face brightened as she hopped to her feet; she reached out and eagerly took Diana's hands in her own, pulling her closer. "Come look at this game Cons has got!"

Diana resisted Akko pulling her down to the grass with her, choosing instead to firmly hold on to the brunette, keeping them both upright. "Actually, Akko, I was wondering if we could perhaps talk for a moment," she said, answering the questioning look on Akko's face.

"Oh!" Akko smiled even wider, "Sure, Diana!" she replied, nodding excitedly. Akko stood there, still grinning at Diana and still holding her hands, patiently waiting for Diana to begin. Conversation around them stopped as the moment dragged on and on. When Sucy started snickering, Diana, cheeks rosy, gingerly took her hands away from Akko's hold.

Diana cleared her throat. "...I meant _in private,_ Akko."

Diana blinked as everyone around her reacted to her simple request. Akko's eyes widened as her cheeks reddened. Lotte, Hannah, and Barbara gasped breathlessly. Jasminka cooed and Sucy gave a hum of approval. " _Nice,"_ Amanda commented in a tone Diana didn't particularly care for. Behind Akko, Constanze raised her fist, and Akko's own instinctively swung back, giving the engineer a fist bump.

Diana felt distinctly out of the loop about something, but it would have to wait: there were pressing matters to be addressed. "Please excuse us," she said to the group before turning to face Akko again; "Come, Akko," she added, grabbing Akko's hand and briskly walking away from the conspiratorial mutterings of their friends.

After her initial surprise, Akko skipped forward to match Diana's pace. She couldn't help the giggles that bubbled forth as she walked hand in hand with the blonde, jovially swinging their arms back and forth. Though bemused by Akko's overabundance of giddiness, Diana didn't mind it one bit; jolly as the brunette had always been, Diana had been noticing that Akko positively glowed nowadays, buoyant and carefree whenever they spent any time together. Diana allowed herself to smile as they walked deeper into the woods, following a worn path that saw infrequent use.

Feeling that they'd traveled enough distance to ensure privacy, Diana slowed to a stop, reluctantly letting go of Akko's hand. Diana remained quiet for a moment as she gathered her thoughts; confusingly, Akko walked up to the nearest tree and began what Diana could only describe as the most awkward dance she'd ever seen. Akko, brimming with some sort of nervous energy, appeared completely unable to find a way to lean naturally against the tree, constantly shifting poses as she struggled with how to rest her arms.

Diana had to admit, Akko _always_ found novel ways to confound and amuse her. "Akko," she called, failing to hide the mirth in her tone.

"Geh!" Akko's eyes widened as she settled on leaning against the tree on her outstretched right hand, one leg crossed in front of the other. "Oh, _hey Diana!_ Um, how _you_ doin'?" she added in an uneven tone, giving the blonde a smiling wince as she alternated between placing her left hand either at her hip or the back of her head. "What's up?"

"Nothing too troubling, I assure you," Diana replied, crossing her arms. "There was something I wished to bring up with you, but I felt it inappropriate to do so in front of everyone; it's a delicate matter."

Akko's cheeks and ears reddened. "Y-yeah?" she asked, leaning forward a bit.

Diana nodded, closing her eyes. "Do not misunderstand, I know our friends wouldn't really have any issue with this, but still; there's a proper way to do things, after all," she continued, opening her eyes and smiling, "You'll have to pardon me if what I am about to say seems a tad forward, but I believe we've grown close enough to be forthright with each other about any feelings we wish to express, have we not?"

Akko's eyes were saucers as she visibly swallowed; she began nodding her head vigorously. "H-hai! Definitely! _Yes!"_

"I'm glad we understand each other so well," Diana commented, taking a step closer to Akko, "Allow me to get right to the point, then: we should talk about your skirt, Akko."

Akko stood stock still as silence befell them. She blinked owlishly as her brain lurched, failing to restart a number of times. "Eh?"

"It is rather shorter than it should be, is it not?" Diana asked, giving Akko a onceover. "I'm not certain how you've managed to evade Finneran's meticulous scrutiny, but you've definitely modified your uniforms, haven't you?"

" _Haaaah?!"_ Akko's mouth hung open, her arms flailing uselessly. " _That's_ what you wanted to talk about, Diana?!"

Diana brought her hands to her hips. "Indeed, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of this troublesome issue before someone brought it up to the teaching staff."

Indignation washed over Akko's face as she reddened further. "' _Troublesome'?_ Diana, it's supposed to look _cute!"_ Akko explained, grabbing either side of her skirt as she twisted her hips from side to side.

It had been a while since Diana had seen her friend so worked up about something; she hoped that Akko's apparent passion for short skirts wouldn't lead to another revolutionary uprising at Luna Nova; she caused enough of those as it was already. "Akko, regardless of its appearance, the student handbook clearly dictates that our skirts should ride no higher than three fingers above the knee." Diana wisely chose to not voice her agreement on the _cute_ part; she knew very well it would only further encourage her.

"Dai- _aaaaaaaaa_ -naaaaa~!" Akko groaned out, her body sagging and folding forward, the tips of her fingers touching the ground, "C'moooooon! Nobody actually reads that dumb handbook!"

Diana's eyebrow twitched. "Well, _I_ most certainly do! How would it reflect on me if I knowingly let you run around flouting the school's rules like that?"

Akko straightened up, giving Diana a quizzical look. "Eh? But Diana, just last night you let me go when you caught me in the kitchen after curfew!"

Diana sighed; she had known she would come to regret her mercifulness sooner or later; she just hadn't expected such regrets to manifest in less than 24 hours. "The only reasons I exercised leniency were because you weren't stealing— _this time_ —and because it had only been ten minutes past the hour."

"And because you _love_ cake!" Akko added, far too smugly for someone who'd resorted to bribing her captor _immediately_ upon being caught.

Diana knew when she was at a disadvantage; she only had herself to blame for taking Akko up on the offer to eat it together with her while watching the stars. "That is neither here nor there, Akko; I suggest you correct your _skirt situation_ before it can cause any more disruption or distraction."

Akko tilted her head, clearly surprised by this new information. "Eeeh? Cause _more_ disruption and distraction…? Who am I distracting, Diana? Did somebody say something?"

Diana tinged slightly as her lips settled into a not-quite-frown. "We should go back; we've kept the girls waiting long enough, don't you think?" she said, turning on her heels before starting her walk back towards the edge of the forest.

Akko watched her go, her shock keeping her rooted to the ground. "W-wait!" she said, the connection between her legs and her brain finally restored, "Diana, who said I was distracting? You're not _really_ gonna tell on me... are you, Diana? Diaaanaaa!"

* * *

 **Hey all! Grave here, hoping to add a little bit of _Yay!_ to this sweet fandom and this fun pairing. I've been writing for this on and off for a few days now, starting as a stream of consciousness snippet involving the clash between Diana's unbending abidance to the rules and Akko's shorter than usual skirt (and I'm definitely not the only writer that's noticed!).**

 **I'm planning for this to be a two-shot, though that depends on how certain after-the-fact scenes play out. We'll see!**


	2. Seeking Answers

Diana lifted her gaze, meeting Professor Du Nord's eyes. Her name had just been called, hadn't it? Hopefully, she hadn't noticed Diana's wandering eyes. "I apologize, Professor, could you repeat the question?" At either side of her, Diana could feel Hannah and Barbara's eyes boring into her. ' _They really do like to fuss over me; I'm grateful, even if their worry is unwarranted.'_

"Of course, Ms. Cavendish: what common precautions should be taken into consideration when spellcasting during the apsides of the Moon?" Chariot said, giving no outward impression of having noticed anything amiss.

Diana stood and answered as she always did: with clarity, precision, and insight. She was loath to admit to her minor, passing lapse in attention by asking the Professor to repeat herself, but she could more than make up for this slight against Ms. Du Nord by providing ample proof of her attentiveness during the rest of the class.

Diana made sure to append some material yet to be covered in class to her answer as further assurance to not only the Professor, but Hannah and Barbara as well, that everything was perfectly fine with her. Diana sat down gently after giving her answer, giving both her friends a reassuring smile; she stifled a giggle at the matching faces of astonishment Hannah and Barbara directed her way. ' _Goodness, these two are as effusive as ever; they look ready to faint!'_

"T-thank you for your thoroughness as always, Diana," Professor Du Nord began, adjusting her glasses as Diana nodded with a smile, "Now class, as Ms. Cavendish has correctly stated, there are ten common precautions, of which she has named nine. Can anyone give me the final—"

"—Ooh! Me! Me! _Meee!"_ Akko shot from her seat, startling most of the students seated around her. "Pick me, Ursula-sensei! I know, I know!" she said, flailing her arms above her head even as Lotte gently tugged at her vest, trying to get Akko to sit down.

"Ah, go ahead, A– Ms. Kagari," Professor Du Nord replied, gesturing towards Akko with her upturned palm.

"Yay!" Akko replied, turning for a moment to smile and give a thumbs up at Diana, who sat behind her, before facing the Professor once more. "The effective range of astral spells increases with the perigee and decreases with the apogee!"

"Excellent, Ms. Kagari," Professor Du Nord said, smiling warmly at her student. It had become a daily struggle to remain professional during class and temper her overflowing pride and affection for her appren—

"— _Hell yeah!"_ Akko shouted, pumping her fist and stamping her foot on her desk, startling everyone seated around her. Again.

" _Akko!"_ Professor Du Nord shouted back, bringing her hands to her desk. "Settle down!" This was her _other_ daily struggle with regards to her apprentice; one struggle often went hand-in-hand with the other.

"Ah-he-hee," Akko gingerly brought her foot down, smiling sheepishly and reddening at the giggling of her peers. She slid back into her seat, unable to keep herself from beaming at both her teammates.

Diana had remained impassive throughout, her features unchanging, unmoving. A creeping numbness had blossomed in her stomach, spreading its tendrils outward and into the rest of her body. Haltingly, she looked down and saw that Hannah and Barbara had both taken one of her hands each into one of their own. ' _I failed to give a complete answer.'_ Diana had to let that sink in for a moment; how could she have slipped up like that? Even worse, over an answer that _she knew?_ She had read the material beforehand; in fact, she'd read the entire book!

Following the Noir Missile Crisis, Diana's extracurricular workload had been reduced; she had more time than ever to study, even factoring in all the time she dedicated to socializing with the Red and Green Teams. Diana was well aware that she didn't have all the answers; she wasn't as conceited as some people believed her to be. Diana was, however, quite confident in the answers she _did_ have, and this one had most certainly been one of them. Most gallingly, she'd gone over the material with Akko just the night before!

Diana's eyes snapped to the cute little ponytail adorning the head of the girl seated in front of her. She glared at it, projecting as much despair as she could muster. ' _Your owner is to blame for my disgrace.'_ Sometimes, Diana swore the almost-top-knot had a mind of its own, bobbing and dancing independent of Akko's body. Once, the brunette had _oh-so-humbly_ admitted that it was as necessary as it was adorable; it restrained a rebellious lock that refused to cascade down her back like the rest of her dark, lustrous hair. Uncombable; untameable.

It made sense to Diana, for Akko danced and twirled and reveled in defiance; _flourished_ in it. _Of course_ every part of her embodied obstinacy! Sometimes, it was easy to believe that _malcontentedness_ was her magic. Akko was the sort of girl that would continue asking ' _Why should I?'_ even after being supplied a seemingly perfect, sound reason; it was awe-inspiring at times, and downright infuriating at others.

Right now, for Diana, it was the latter. Professor Du Nord's voice faded away as Diana recalled and stewed over what had transpired that very same morning…

* * *

Diana had noticed it first thing in the morning during the shuffle to the first class of the day: Akko's nearly bare legs, peeking through a dense forest of indigo skirts. Even if Akko _were_ following regulations, the cadence of her walk was unmistakeable; Akko rarely moved anywhere at a sedate pace. Her steps were often purposeful strides, hyperactive tapping, eager hops, and dead runs to _everywhere._ For a while, Diana had wondered if Akko had joined Luna Nova through an athletics scholarship.

The crowd had parted to give way to Diana's resolute course as she beelined towards Akko to further verify what she already knew: instead of heeding Diana's warning, Akko had doubled down and kept her skirt dangerously short. ' _Could she have… No!'_ Indignation bloomed within her as she quickened her pace to catch up to Akko, who walked a bit further down the hall ahead of her. ' _Such recalcitrance; the sheer audacity of…'_ Diana's thoughts were interrupted as she bumped shoulders with another student; she'd been so focused on catching up to Akko's retreating form that she'd failed to keep her wits about her. Diana had been about to voice her apologies when she realized just who'd she bumped into.

Amanda's smirk seemed almost predatory to Diana as the redhead made a show of staring at Akko's retreating backside. "I think her eyes are a little further up, Diana... and, _you know,_ on the other side," Amanda spoke softly, just for Diana's ears, "Not that I blame ya."

 _Of course_ O'Neill would misunderstand! Diana's cheeks tinged at the clear and clearly incorrect implication espoused by her most contentious friend; how could Amanda conflate her brazen, licentious leering with Diana's concerned observations? "Do not presume to know my intentions towards Atsuko, _O'Neill,"_ Diana whispered back, a bit more icily than she perhaps should have.

"Oh- _ho-ho!"_ Amanda brightened, apparently beyond chuffed by Diana's response, "Put the claws away, Cavendish, I'm not the one that plowed down a hallway full of students just to chase a skirt. You even left Larry and Curly behind," she said, swinging her arm at the elbow and pointing back down the hall with her thumb.

Diana frowned; perhaps not icily enough, then. She turned around just in time to see Hannah and Barbara catching up to her. "Diana!" they echoed as they approached.

"Yes, girls?"

"Diana...!"

* * *

Diana blinked, coming back to the present as she realized her name was being called once more. "Yes, Hannah?"

"Ah," Hannah bit her lip, hesitating for a second. She leaned closer and lowered her voice, "Class is over, Diana," she said, her eyes looking past Diana for a second.

Diana turned, knowing Barbara would continue Hannah's thought. "Yeah, um, is everything alright, Diana?"

Diana looked towards the front of the classroom, the students calmly filing out to the halls while Akko stayed behind, talking animatedly with Professor Du Nord about something completely unrelated to the class, as per usual. As her gaze slowly crawled down Akko's svelte form, a question bubbled to the surface of her thoughts: could Akko have taken inspiration from Shiny Chariot's provocative performing attire? Certainly, their idol-turned-professor was a striking beauty, no matter how much she tried to downplay it.

How would Akko even _look_ in such a form-fitting— Diana's cheeks burned as she _immediately_ struck the image from her mind before it could fully form; that was an entirely inappropriate train of thought to be entertaining! Diana blinked; she'd been asked a question, hadn't she? Right, her friends. "I'm fine, girls," she replied, turning back to Hannah, only to find her face brimming with wide-eyed curiosity. Diana caught the redhead throwing a blatant, eager look over her shoulder.

Diana turned once again, catching Barbara in the midsts of utterly failing to hide the excitement beaming from her face. Diana had to arch an eyebrow at that. "Barbara, is something the matter?"

"What? No, perish the thought, Diana!" Barbara replied, straining not to smile.

Diana turned, finding Hannah's eyebrows perched as high as they could go. "Y-yeah! We were maybe a _little_ worried 'cause you like, spaced out on us," she continued, waving her hands nervously.

"...But everything is totally fine! _More than fine!"_

" _Better_ than 'more than fine!'"

Diana immediately realized the reason why Hannah and Barbara never hid their occasionally rude behavior: ' _They are absolutely terrible at subterfuge.'_ Movement caught her attention; Diana brought her eyes forward and caught Akko skipping away from the classroom in a hurry, cheerfully waving back at her as she stepped out. Diana's eyes had been glued to Akko's bouncing hemline the entire time; it was but for the grace of Beatrix that Akko's virtue hadn't been put on display for the rest of the class to see!

A smoldering ire sparked within Diana at the thought of Amanda, or anyone else, but mostly Amanda, entertaining unbecoming thoughts about Akko. Diana needed to make Akko understand the danger she was in: O'Neill had already admitted to her lascivious conduct—who knew who _else_ could be staring at Akko with such hungry eyes? ' _This will simply not do.'_

"Um, Diana, you're squeezing kinda hard…"

"Y-yeah, I need that hand to write..."

"Apologies," Diana said, releasing her friends' hands, "Come, we've got a class to get to," she added, rising from her seat and realizing they were the only ones left in the classroom save for Ms. Du Nord, ' _And I've got a troublemaker to confront.'_

* * *

The Red-Green sextet shared a laugh as they sat gathered around a table in one of the busier common rooms at the academy. They had assembled there after the final class of the day to wait for the Blue Team to be done with their extracurricular work so that they could all spend the afternoon together.

The Green Team, as usual, had brought snacks and refreshments with them, which they happily shared with the Red Team on the condition that Sucy never ever be allowed ever never to bring refreshments again. _Ever._ Akko, Lotte and Sucy sat together on an ornate sofa, while Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka sat across from them in another. At the moment, five of the six girls found themselves unable to stop themselves from laughing as Akko grabbed both sides of her head in frustration, twisting about as she loosed a wailing groan.

"Mouuu, I'm _serious_ guys, you should've _seen_ her in it!" Akko half-shouted, her eyes wide, "I didn't even _know_ having a thing for riding suits was a thing you could have!"

" _Atsuko Kagari."_ Diana's words carried an intensity few students had ever heard the blonde express herself with. Despite being spoken at a normal volume, Diana's voice had cut through the din and conversation in the common room. The dozens of students present had been startled into absolute silence as they all turned their heads first towards Diana, and then towards Akko, who'd been sitting with her back to the entrance and grasped at her chest like she might be suffering through a mild heart attack.

A heaviness draped over everyone in the room as Akko remained paralyzed where she sat, stunned by Diana's ardor. Every girl in the room held her breath; they too frozen where they stood, unable to tear their eyes away from the unfolding scene. What was going on? What had Akko done this time? What did she have to say for herself? What was she going to do?

"Oh _crap,"_ Akko finally said, immediately jumping from her seat and stepping on the table before vaulting from it with an impressive front flip that sent her up and over the sofa on the other side. Landing on her feet, Akko looked back once, took stock of Diana's red-faced, mounting anger, and _bolted._

Diana's face burned, having gotten _quite_ the show from the combination of Akko's acrobatics and her cheeky skirt. Of course, so had everyone else in the room, and _especially_ Amanda, over whom Akko had flown over during her escape. "A-Akko!" Her call had drawn everyone's attention back to herself, but Diana was beyond caring; how could she, when she'd already made such a fool of herself in six different classes that day? Oh yes, Akko would pay for every wrong answer Diana had given while otherwise preoccupied.

Diana gave chase as quickly as she could without breaking into a run; there was no running in the halls of Luna Nova, and Diana wasn't about to encourage such behavior. Diana's mission was clear: she needed to stop Akko from consuming her thoughts with such alarming frequency lest she single-handedly bring about the second downfall of the House of Cavendish!

Silence followed as Diana stalked out of the room; to many of the students present, it had been their first time seeing Diana be anything but the very image of British collectedness. To some, an illusion had been shattered; ' _So... Diana was human after all, huh?'_ To others, a new appreciation for Akko emerged; ' _So Diana was human after all, huh!'_

"Okay, show of hands," Amanda said, breaking the silence as she raised her arm, "Who else thinks the way Diana said Akko's name all furious like that was actually kinda hot?" She smirked as she watched a number of hesitant hands go up. " _Thought so."_

* * *

 ** _Whoo!_ Birthday chapter! Okay, so, er, remember when I said this would be a two-shot? I lied.**

 **I _think_ this'll be a three-shot. Hopefully.  
** **Maybe.**

 **So yes! Who told Akko Diana was into her, anyways? We have Red Team, Blue Team, Green Team... But do we have a _Rainbow Team?_ Don't miss out all the answers and action next time, on _Witches Balls Z!_**

 **Okay, so yeah, we're probably gonna change that title...**

* * *

 **Anyways, lemme reply to some of you lovely reviewers out there:**

 **pessoabaka: I have now kept going!**

 **Anon:** **I'll be bringing up Amanda's skirt, don't worry about that!**

 **SupeR: Second chapter granted! Thanks!**

 **Loli Hitler: I have met your demands, mein fuehrer.**

 **Psykoakuma: The miscommunication continues, and Akko is none the wiser!**

 **FeliciaRei: I'm glad I could make you smile; that makes _me_ smile!**

 **Nyx Sigma ZERO: Haha, English is my second language too, so I know that words from your own language sometimes slip in like that!**

 **8ytan: Oh man, wait til you see in chapter 3 how bad Diana missed the signals.**

 **UruruSan: I agree with Akko, it's much cuter than scandalous.**

 **Hydrocity3: _Love_ the handle. Funnily enough, her skirt was long in the first episode, so she _definitely_ modified it.**

 **eternalovers: Boom! Two chapters now!**


	3. Run, Don't Walk

"...And this is hardly the first time this week you've been caught running in the halls, Kagari, you know better than this."

"Uh-huh," Akko nodded, her eyes darting between the Professor and the hall behind her. She bit her lip as she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. ' _Maybe I lost her?'_

"Furthermore, I needn't remind you that many of the new applicants for the coming school year did so because of you and your exploits, Kagari; as a student of Luna Nova and the chosen wielder of the Claíomh Solais, there are certain expectations placed upon you by your station," Finneran continued, arms crossed.

"Yah-huh," Akko replied, quickly whipping her head in reaction to the clacking of heels to her left; she sighed and turned back after realizing it was just another member of the faculty. ' _Then again, she always finds me somehow whenever I'm breaking curfew…'_

"You must lead by example, Kagari; while you have accomplished much, you simply cannot afford to rest on your laurels, especially _now_ that you've proven what you are capable of when properly motivated. Complacency is unbecoming and—"

"—Y'okay," Akko said, subtly leaning her body to the right to get a better view of the hall past Finneran. ' _Maybe she has a tracker on me? No, that's dumb… Or is it? I should ask Cons to scan me fo—'_ Akko yelped when Finneran leaned left to intercept her attention.

"Miss Kagari, _am I keeping you from something?"_ Finneran asked, hands at her hips as her ever-present frown deepened into a scowl. "If you must rush everywhere to make your appointments, Kagari, then you must reconsider the way you prioritize your time. Tardiness is rude and as unacceptable as it is avoidable." Finneran turned her gaze past Akko as she spotted someone turning the corner at the end of the hall. "Besides, how could you ever hope to win the affections of someone as unfailingly punctual as Ms. Cavendish with your poor time management?"

Akko's posture wilted as she let her head loll back. "Aww, c'mooon…."

"Perhaps you will heed her words instead if you are so adamantly set on ignoring mine," Finneran said, bringing her eyes past Akko once again. "Ms. Cavendish?" she called, making sure to speak clearly, not loudly.

Akko jerked, her eyes widening. "W-what?!" She turned to find her pursuer making her way towards them. "D-Diana!"

Finneran turned back to Akko after catching Diana's attention; "As for your punishment, I—" she paused, realizing that Akko was no longer right in front of her. The rapid _thump-thump-thump_ of Akko's of footfalls had been the only indication that she hadn't just teleported away. By the time Finneran had turned towards the sound, the only thing she managed to catch was a fleeting glimpse of Akko's top-knot disappear around a corner.

Akko ran down the hallway, startling and dodging students and faculty alike as she darted around, under, and over them in search of a place to hide. Most of the doors she'd tried were locked now that the school day was over; the few classrooms that were open remained that way for after-school clubs, tutoring, or extra-curricular work, which meant they were occupied by witches and teachers. Even worse, they outright refused to give Akko safe haven; a recent revision and reprint of the academy regulations handbook had mentioned Akko by name a number of times vis-à-vis the harboring of known troublemakers and other related infractions.

Finneran—upon personally handing Akko the revised book—had assured her that the revisions were merely a stop-gap measure while the entire handbook underwent a complete rewrite. Later on, Holbrooke had let it slip that the last major rewrite had been during Chariot's time as a student at the academy, and Akko couldn't help but feel rather proud to be following in her mentor's footsteps. Akko gasped; ' _Ursula-sensei'll let me hide in her homeroom!'_ Akko knew her mentor tended to stay in her classroom during exam days to get the grading done instead of taking the work back to her loft.

Akko dropped her body low as she skidded to a halt in a way reminiscent of a slide tackle, before exploding into a run in the opposite direction and towards the staircase she'd passed midway down the hall. Most of the students around her witnessed the impressive maneuver in muted awe and lamented the fact that Luna Nova's football club had been one of the first things cut when the budget took a nosedive so many years ago.

Reaching the staircase, Akko preserved her momentum by grabbing the handrail's post as she ran past, pivoting her body out of the hallway and launching herself at the stairs. Taking the steps four at a time, Akko reached the top in no time at all only to be immediately lifted from the ground by the collar of her shirt as she ran past a faculty member. "What the—"

"Well, looks like I caught myself a runner! Lemme guess: Professor Finneran's cross with ya again, Kagari?" Professor Nelson smirked as Akko flailed her legs uselessly, hanging from the instructor's arm like a petulant cat.

Akko's top-knot twitched and shook from side to side at the accusation. "No! I mean, not this time!" she sighed, bringing her palm to her face, "I mean, _yes,_ but that's not why I'm running; Diana's chasing me!" She explained, holding out her arms.

Nelson blinked at Akko, then smiled widely. "Cavendish? Sounds like everything's coming up roses, then! Haven't you been fancying that girl for ages?" she asked, putting Akko back down and slapping her back in congratulations.

"Ah, er, well…" Akko hesitated, scratching her cheek and pointedly not meeting Nelson's eyes.

Nelson blinked again. "Oh, I getcha: _Diana's_ the one cross with you," she said, flicking her gaze between Akko and the hallway; her smile widened when Akko flinched, confirming her deduction. "Reckon yer gonna hole up at Professor Ursula's?"

"Yeah, Diana looked really, really mad, so I'm just gonna…" Akko began, pointing with both hands down the hall as she took a step away from Nelson, trying to end the conversation.

Professor Nelson guffawed. "She's really got ya spooked! How'd ya cock that up, Kagari? What'd you do?"

"I-I don't know!" Akko said, her cheeks reddening as she continued to avoid eye contact. She took another half step away from the staircase and into the hallway.

Nelson raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you know _exactly_ what you did." Akko blushed further, starting to sweat. Nelson shrugged. "Alright, alright, you don't wanna tell ol' Nelson, I see how it is," she began, starting to descend the staircase, "You go on and hide, I'll see what I can do about Cavendish," she added as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

Akko dashed to the railing, smiling brightly at the professor below. "Thank you, Nelson-sensei!" she said, waving at her new favorite flight instructor.

Nelson returned her smile. "Of course! Oh, one more thing, Kagari…?"

"Hm?"

Nelson pulled her wand from her belt. "Enjoy sleepin' in the doghouse."

"W-wh—"

" _ **HEY, CAVENDISH!**_ **SHE'S UP HERE!"** Professor Nelson shouted into the hall with her megaphone spell.

It took a couple of seconds for Akko to react; had she just been sold down the river? "Ahh?! Nelson-sensei, _why?!"_ she flailed, almost falling over the railing as she did.

"Ha! She looks absolutely _livid!"_ The echoes of Nelson's cackling followed Akko as she sprinted away from the staircase and up the hall. Luckily, she quickly noticed that Professor Ursula standing at the very end, arms resting on the sill of an open window. On her shoulder, Alcor appeared equally at peace.

"Ursula-sensei!" Akko shouted as she neared, using both feet to screech to a stop, the sound of it prompting Alcor to give her a baleful stare for breaking their peace. "Uh, hi, Alcor!"

Chariot turned, raising a hand to comb back some of her hair. "Akko; I thought I'd heard you and Nelson back there. Is everything alright? You're not in any trouble with her, are you?" she asked, her hand automatically reaching up to scratch Alcor behind the ear. The Familiar tried his darnest to not let it show in front of Akko how good the scritches felt.

Akko smiled brightly and innocently, "Um, could we hang out in the classroom, Ursula-sensei?" she asked, pouring on as much charm as she could, interlocking her fingers and letting her leg dance on the tip of her shoe.

Chariot smiled back at her apprentice. "Ah, it was rather stuffy in there so I decided to step out and cool off. I was thinking of taking a walk to the Archives, if you'd like to accompany me," she offered with a shrug.

" _Uh,"_ Akko turned back to look down the still-empty hallway before facing Professor Du Nord again, "Yeah, a walk sounds great! But, um, maybe we could still sit in the classroom for a bit before—" Akko shivered as a frisson made her hair stand on end; she'd never felt it before, but she instinctively recognized it; ' _Sakki,'_ she thought; _killing intent_. Not even all her years of playing fighting games had prepared her for this.

Alcor puffed his feathers as he unfolded his wings, holding them up in a threatening manner. Chariot's glasses flashed as she frowned; something powerful was approaching them. The entity was surrounded by a field on untamed magic; but it felt _familiar,_ somehow. Chariot's hand hovered over her wand at her belt as she watched the staircase at the end of the hallway with unblinking eyes.

...That is, until a golden head of hair became visible coming up the steps; Chariot had to blink at that. "Diana?"

" _...Crap."_ Akko's interjection had brought Du Nord's attention back to her apprentice. "So, uh, do you know any invisibility spells you could cast on me like, _right now?"_

Chariot looked back down the hallway again; Diana walked passively and collectedly towards them, her face neutral. To any non-magical being, she would appear as nothing more than a girl taking a walk. To Chariot, Akko's words and Diana's presence flashed her mind back to a memory from eleven years prior, to a point in time when she'd found herself in Akko's position: pleading with Professor Woodward to save her from Croix's well-deserved ire.

Admittedly, unlike Chariot herself, Akko didn't seem like the type to goose someone in public with an artifact of incalculable magical value in some monumentally misguided attempt at flirting… But Akko was nothing if not beautifully creative in her mischief and mayhem. Whatever she'd done to Diana, it must've been quite something.

And just as Woodward had helped her apprentice a decade ago, now too could Chariot guide her young charge, imparting upon Akko the sage witch's own words. "Akko," Chariot smiled softly at the girl, laying a hand on her shoulder to grab her attention. When Akko met her gaze with hope in her eyes, Chariot continued. "Know that I will always love you, and I will always be at your side, if not in body then in spirit… But there are some paths that a woman must walk alone," she continued, lifting her hand from Akko's shoulder and gesturing towards Diana.

"Ara?" Akko turned towards Diana for a second before turning back to Professor Du Nord… Or rather, the space that Professor Du Nord had been occupying just a split second ago. "Eeh?!"

 _Click._

" _Aaahh?!"_ Akko turned her entire torso right towards the sound, realizing with mounting dread that her mentor had slipped into the classroom and locked it, leaving Akko to walk _The Path of Aloneness._

" _Atsuko."_

Akko twitched as her arms erupted in goosebumps again; ' _Why does she sound so hot when she's angry?! How is that even fair?'_ With a loud gulp, Akko turned around to face Diana. Silence befell them as Akko made quick work of her current situation: Diana, as intelligent as Akko was clever, had stopped midway down the hall. If Akko wanted to run away again, she'd have to go through Diana; they both knew it.

Diana was well aware that Akko was a quick thinker when cornered; she'd left ample distance between them so that she could give herself time to react to any action Akko might take to get past her; Diana's honed reflexes were just as swift as Akko's cunning and guile. They were rivals for a reason, after all.

Akko gulped again; the longer she drew out this encounter, the more the balance would shift in Diana's favor. It was very likely that the blonde had already come up with a response to any trick Akko might pull to get past her. Akko's vision was momentarily filled with her own hair as a breeze blew across her back; her mouth formed into an 'O' as her eyes widened. Her lips then stretched into a toothy smile as she saw Diana's own eyes widen.

' _You wouldn't,'_ Diana's eyes seemed to plead.

Akko's cheshire grin communicated her thoughts loud and clear: ' _You know I would.'_

Diana frowned in exasperation. ' _I know you would,'_ her posture replied, even as she finally allowed herself to break into a run. Alas, the distance was too great; Diana was no slouch when it came to physical activity, but in leaving herself so much room to maneuver, she'd unwittingly conceded the same to the brunette. "Akko!" she shouted as she witnessed the girl hop backwards from where she stood to sit on the open window's sill, _stick her tongue out at Diana,_ and then perform a graceful backwards roll out said window. " _Bloody hell!"_ the girl didn't even have a bloody broom to not fly with!

Diana reached the window with one leg already raised on the sill, ready to jump after Akko until the utterly ridiculous sight of that utterly ridiculous girl's _utterly ridiculous elephant form_ forestalled her own jump. Diana remained there propped on the window, eyelid twitching as Akko gracefully unfurled her giant ears near the bottom of her fall, artfully gliding away from Luna Nova's main hall, giggling in her silly elephant voice all the while.

Diana startled slightly as a hand landed softly on her shoulder. "My, my, Diana; running in the halls? What has this world come to?" Chariot said, Alcor still perched on her shoulder.

Diana flushed red at Professor Du Nord's teasing admonishment. Immediately hopping back into the hallway, Diana faced her once(and not-so-secretly, still)-idol, standing straight with arms folded behind her back and head bowed in contriteness. "I-I apologize for my behavior, Professor Du Nord, now and during your class. It is reprehensible and unacceptable, and I shall bear any punishment you see fit to assign."

Chariot couldn't help but giggle. "Diana, I think we can overlook your little misstep this time around; after all," she said, letting her eyes flicker towards the open window for a moment, "don't you have a girl to chase?"

Diana blushed redder still; though _technically correct,_ Professor Du Nord's choice of words and tone left a lot to be desired! Just what was she implying? "I… I suppose I do," Diana replied, bowing her head once more. "Thank you, Professor," she added, walking away and trying not to think too hard about how Alcor almost seemed to be smirking at her.

* * *

 **Finally, we get to see a bit from Akko's side! Poor thing, what's a little witch to do when all her teachers keep teasing her about her crush? In fact, how do they all even know about her crush? I think a flashback chapter is in order... Now, do I keep you all in suspense and post that first, or do I post the resolution of the chase first? Hmmm...**

* * *

 **Let's get to some more replies to reviews, shall we?**

 **SuperR: Your wish is granted, three chapters down and still going! And I'm sure Diana has _no idea_ what you could possibly be implying; the only one staring at Akko is Amanda, of course.**

 **thewatcher509: Haha, yes, LWA just invites all sorts of coziness and fluffiness, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

 **TAWOGfan2000: Diana has never been to Egypt, but she's definitely been up and down that river!**

 **eternalovers: I can't wait to show you why everyone seems to know!**

 **Scarlet of the Sea: Diana secretly found it just a teeny bit funny when she looked it up. Just a teeny bit.**

 **Mazamba: Haha, I hope it can continue to be!**

 **Hydrocity3: I've got to resist the urge to write a story just about Amanda snarking out every witch she meets (or just Diana, honestly.)**

 **Smashdenslap: I'm glad!**

 **Psykoakuma: She did, in fact, bust out the Three Stooges! And poor Akko, it seems anything Diana does is her fetish. Plus, apparently Akko can sense _Satsui no Hado?_**

 **Gymnopede: Keeping and upping, as requested!**

 **Kurokanako: Oh, you'll soon finally see what specifically had Diana so riled up that morning she plowed through all the students!**


	4. Interlude Pt I- The One Where Akko Knows

**_\- - - — — — Five Months Ago - Three Days After Samhain_** ** _— — — - - -_**

* * *

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Lotte blinked, lifting her gaze and meeting Akko's.

Akko tinged, her eyes wide. "Okay so wait, back up; this werewolf guy; Arthur, right?"

Lotte arched an eyebrow, somewhat confused at Akko's reaction. "Yeah?" she prodded, gently swinging her legs over the edge of Akko's bottom bunk, where they both sat.

"So, you're saying this guy has a crush on that vampire guy, Edgar...?" Lotte nodded, "...because he's been breaking vampire traditions just to get a rise out of him?"

Lotte clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "Yes! Arthur loves it whenever he can make Edgar lose his cool! On book 207, when him and Belle were taking care of Edgar's wounds after the third battle of the War of the Lilies, he confided in Belle that he felt a sort of privilege in being the only one able to bring out such interesting faces and reactions from Edgar."

Akko blushed. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?"

Akko grabbed her pillow, hugging it to herself. "Um, is that the _only_ reason you say he lo– _likes_ Edgar?"

Sucy rolled her eyes with a sigh; "Oh boy…" she offered from where she stood, hunched over her current experiment as she slowly stirred a flask.

Lotte took in a lungful of air as she brought her legs up to the bed, turning to face Akko fully. "Oh my gosh, where should I start?!" she asked, balling her fists as a fiery aura erupted around her, making Akko lean back a bit away from its intensity. "There's been so many hints throughout the series! You see, in the first fifty books or so, they had slowly been set up as romantic rivals fighting over Belle's love—that is, _until book fifty-three!"_

Lotte smiled widely at Akko, her eyes hidden by the sudden flash of light reflected from her glasses as she continued; "Belle got near-fatally stung by a Giant Space Tarantula Hawk while protecting Arthur! The only way to nullify the venom was to harvest the eggs of the Giant Space Tarantula Hawk that were incubating inside the Giant Space Goliath Pterodactyl-eater, you see."

"...So, it's both a Giant and a Goliath...?" muttered Sucy, unable to concentrate on her latest batch of high-yield liquid flaying agent with all the excited chatter going on; she shrugged, placing the vial in an open space in their spice rack.

Lotte raised her index finger, as if giving Akko an important lesson; "Here's the thing: Arthur had apparently ' _won'_ their rivalry when Belle chose to protect him instead of Edgar. However, when Arthur set off to brave the deadly perils of the Pterodactyl-eaters' main hive in the mountains of Wyoming, Edgar came along and fought just as hard alongside him! Arthur developed a real admiration for Edgar after that, seeing him in a new light. Their dynamic shifted; Arthur's always been out to prove that werewolves are not the lessers of vampires but, oftentimes, Arthur was now seeking Edgar's approval _specifically_ or fought much more fiercely if he knew Edgar was watching him!"

Akko's blush reached her ears. "Oh _no,"_ she whispered, reaching out to the Shiny Rod and hugging it to herself over her pillow.

Lotte bounced lightly but excitedly on the mattress, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "Oh _yes;_ it was so cute! Arthur would bring up Edgar all the time, even when he wasn't around, and all his ' _complaints'_ were about how perfect he was at everything, or how effortlessly handsome he was, or how big his—er, um, _hands_ were!" Lotte turned her face away, adjusting her glasses as her own blush spread across her cheeks.

Akko flopped back onto her bed, covering her face with her pillow. "It _can't_ be!"

Lotte pouted at Akko's reaction, her shoulders sagging a bit. "Well, there's always naysayers for every couple in the series, but I really believe the writers—"

"—Ahh, no, no! I believe you, Lotte!" Akko said, sitting back up and waving her hands. "That's kinda the problem, I think you're right about me...e _eeaaarthur!_ Mearthur! A-Arthur and Edgar, I mean!"

" _Mearthur,"_ Sucy took a seat by their desk, placing her elbow on it and resting her chin on her hand. "Nice save, Akko," she added, a tiny smirk playing at her lips. "Real subtle."

"What?" Lotte blinked at Sucy in confusion, her head turning back and fro between her two friends.

Akko startled giggling nervously, bringing her hand to the back of her head as she hopped from the bed, quickly shuffling her way to the door. "So _hey_ I'm feeling super hungry so you guys must be hungry too so I should get us a midnight snack; right guys? Right!" she agreed with herself, opening the door and stepping out in one fluid motion before anyone could say anything.

Lotte stared at the closed door. "Huh?" She turned back to Sucy. "Do you know—"

"—So... Edgar's _big hands,_ huh?"

* * *

Akko heard a muted squeal come through her room's door, but she paid it no mind as she began pacing away from the dormitories and down the moonlit halls of Luna Nova. She shivered lightly; it was November already and—according to Finneran—heating costs magic they couldn't spare. Also, " _the cold builds character,"_ apparently; Akko wasn't sure she believed that.

Akko sighed as she turned a corner, her bare feet soundlessly carrying her to the dining hall even as her mind carried her deeper into a spiral of frantic rumination. The conversation with Lotte had begun so innocently, too: Akko, still riding the emotional high of their Samhain performance just a few days ago, had started talking about how she'd surpass her rival the following year. That had gotten Lotte started on what she claimed to be one of the world's most long-standing rivalries: that of Edgar and Arthur. According to her, thanks to the Time Stones, Blue Spheres, and the Multiverse Theory, they'd been rivals since the Paleozoic Era.

Akko's brain hurt trying to make sense of it.

Nevertheless, Akko had found herself relating to Lotte's story; Arthur was a mutt even to his own kind and out to change the world, whereas his rival Edgar was a proud, esteemed member of an ancient family of vampires. The parallels were easy to draw the more Lotte went on, and Akko was fully on board right up until the subject of Arthur's _obvious crush_ came up, and with it, a bit of forced self-reflection when Akko couldn't turn off the mental picture she'd already drawn of Werewolf Akko and Vampire Diana at the start of their conversation.

For Akko, it was the many pieces of a puzzle falling into place even though she hadn't been assembling one; the answer to a question she never thought to ask. Truthfully, it was a little bit embarrassing how much everything suddenly started making sense; of course, perhaps not nearly as embarrassing as falling for one's rival! Diana, of all people! Who could be dumb enough to fall for such a high-and-mighty elitist, anyways?

...It was then that Akko decided to stop asking herself rhetorical questions.

Akko continued her trek across the halls of the academy, reaching and stepping down a staircase at a more sedate pace than her usual as she tried to make sense of this emerging _Diana Situation._ Looking back, there had been a number of _clues_ that, in hindsight, pointed with big neon arrows and runway landing lights towards her crush. In fact, Akko had been quite aware of all these hints beforehand; she'd just taken them each at face value, never having had any reason to think that they all formed a bigger picture.

She had to chuckle at herself; ' _It kinda sounds like an Ursula-sensei lesson.'_ Sure, _now_ it felt obvious but, each clue taken separately, how could Akko have known? There was nothing strange about wanting to surpass the most celebrated student in Luna Nova's history! Having spent just half a day in Diana's body had only further confirmed that the blonde was the girl to beat: Diana—for all her snobbiness, conceitedness, and holier-than-thou attitude—worked harder than any student at the Academy, and probably harder than a good deal of the faculty. ' _If only she weren't so smug about how much better she is than me…'_

More importantly, despite her arrogance, Diana wanted to find a way to fill the world with magic just like Akko did; rivals always competed towards the same goals, didn't they? The night of the Samhain Festival, Akko had seen and felt it: Diana's eyes on her all throughout Vajarois's liberation, just like she had requested.

Diana's stare had been intense and unblinking, and Akko had felt equally flustered and emboldened by it. The crowd's energy as they began to enjoy Red Team's act was an entirely new feeling for Akko, but Diana's unwavering eyes somehow amplified the thrill of it that much more. Even as Diana was crowned the Moonlit Witch, Akko found the blonde's inscrutable gaze constantly on her. Armed with a little more self-awareness, Akko might've wondered _why_ she felt the need to have her eyes on the blonde all the time.

Well, _besides_ the obvious.

 _Of course_ Diana was attractive; _blindingly_ so. Akko had eyes and a pulse, after all. How could such a thought ever raise any flags when it was such an openly-discussed topic at the Academy? Diana could be quietly reading in the corner of a room and _still_ command the attention of everyone present. How could Diana be so distracting by just... _sitting there?_ ' _Totally unfair,'_ Akko mused as she made it to the dining hall; after a cursory glance to check for any staff, she made her way across by sticking close to the walls and staying in the shadows.

Even _less_ of an issue was the fact that Diana was a girl; Akko could barely count it as a clue by now. Finding a girl attractive had stopped being new and frightening to Akko some years ago thanks to the multicultural exposure and mostly-wholesale acceptance from her peers in her AP English classes. Of course, another round of thanks were owed in no small part to the ridiculous ball of concentrated, _blistering hotness_ that was Shiny Chariot.

Akko couldn't even feel at all guilty about all her Shiny Chariot doujin and that one folder deep within her computer because, well... _Wow._ If the Chariot poster above her bunk could talk, she'd probably have to burn it and scatter the ashes to the four corners of the world; that thing had seen _entirely_ too much back home.

Akko reached the counters at the back of the hall, running her gaze along their length until she spotted her target: a number of utensils hanging from hooks behind the serving stations. She grabbed one of the soup ladles, unscrewing its wand handle and extending the casting tip. She smiled as she easily gained access to the kitchen; learning Amanda's lockpicking spell had definitely been a _much_ better use of her time and energy than any of those table manner spells Finneran kept drilling her on. Once inside, Akko had no trouble navigating blind; she knew the route to the pantry by heart, so she didn't bother with a light spell as she expertly tip-toed around the total darkness of the kitchen.

As she reached the food stores, Akko's hand rested on the pantry's door handle as she let her mind wander to one of the most damning pieces of the puzzle: _the dreams._ Akko was a vivid dreamer; many of her awesome ideas and clever schemes originated—and were extensively tested with 100% positive results—in her sleep. The dreams were numerous and diverse and Akko could recall most of them with great clarity but, while the subject matter varied, Akko had to admit that there were some recurring themes that she maybe could've paid more attention to.

' _Dreams are dreams,'_ she'd told herself a number of times; they could mean anything! Dreams about Chariot's show, dreams about putting on her _own_ show, dreams about great magical adventures, dreams about school and dreams about her friends and the many students she'd come to know in just a few months… And, well, _friendlier-than-usual_ dreams, too. Akko reddened a bit as she looked over her shoulder, suddenly feeling just a teensy bit guilty even though she knew she was alone and no one could read her mind. Well, _maybe._ Really, kissing pretty girls in dreams was _not_ a crime, even if Sucy liked to act like it was whenever she _somehow_ knew what Akko had been dreaming about every other morning!

Akko couldn't stop the sudden giggling that overtook her; she really had it bad, didn't she? Despite how troublesome it was, she couldn't help but feel just a teensy bit of giddiness about it all. Here she was, in a school full of cute students, and thinking of pretty girls immediately caused her mind conjure up images of Diana and Diana only. Seriously, she could almost picture the blond girl right beside her—

"—Honestly, if you're _actually_ attempting to avoid capture every time you do this," Diana's voice in the pitch darkness nearly made Akko's heart explode, "then you should, at the very least, pick _different_ hours of the night to raid the—" Diana's eyes widened as she ignited her wand to light the room before catching sight of Akko. "A-Akko! _You are indecent!"_ she whispered loudly, her face burning red. Akko's face burned just as bright as she pulled her night shirt down to cover her tiny boy shorts.

Well, at least she had worn her _cute_ undies to bed.

* * *

 **Hey guys, Grave here with the first part of our flashback interlude! This chapter's a little late despite the fact that it's been almost ready since the day** _ **after**_ **I posted chapter three! Certain factors have conspired to slow down the witchiness of it all: First, I had to trim down the interlude into different parts since the Akko-Realizes-She's-In-Lesbians-With-Her-Rival part of the flashback differed in pace and detail compared to the next part of the interlude (the one where others find out!).**

 **Secondly,** _ **Hurricane Irma.**_ **I live in Puerto Rico, which was affected by the storm as it passed along the north after causing disaster in the Lesser Antilles and on its way to Cuba and Florida. I have been without electricity at my home for many days now, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to this situation, since the infrastructure here was already falling apart** _ **before**_ **the hurricane skirted us. I'm actually tethering my phone right now to get some internet for my laptop so I can actually post this!**

 **I've also established the timeline more explicitly here; this fic takes place after the end of the series but before the epilogue (hence why Diana's worried that Akko can't fly a broom yet), and in this interlude we've jumped back to the time in between episodes 13 and 14.**

 **Also, I want to give special mention to a very cool surprise: someone actually drew art related to this fic! That is** _ **awesome.**_ **Kirbuu, a reader on AO3, mentioned my fic to tumblr artist pudgeruffian [NSFW art in their blog], and they proceeded to draw a [SFW] flustered Diana being very,** _ **very**_ **concerned about Akko's skirt and nothing more, I'm sure. You can find it at [ pudgeruffian-dot-tumblr-dot-com/post/165111698600/this-story-is-adorable-and-potentially-lewd ]. Thanks, guys!**

* * *

 **And now, for the customary review replies:**

 **Guest:** **The wait is over!**

 **Loli Hitler:** **And in this game, it could've been quite literal had Akko transformed into a mouse!**

 **SupeR:** **I would really love to know what's Nelson's story, I feel like she might've been a hellion like Akko when she was a student, too!**

 **Scarlet of the Sea:** **Darn right Diana's gonna go catch her! When does a Cavendish do anything half-way?**

 **Tamaki:** **Her gayness is blinding her to how gay she is, the poor thing.**

 **8ytan:** **After episode 3, there was no doubt in my mind that Akko was low-key an athletic dynamo and she has no idea how her feats look to mere mortals. This'll come into play soon, don't worry.**

 **Mazamba:** **Chariot's ideas were never as perfect as she thought they were in her head...**

 **Gontan:** **And even worse for Diana, Amanda realized this** _ **months**_ **ago.**

 **aaameidas:** **It's kinda funny that I thought even for a second that this would be a one-shot.**

 **Psykoakuma:** **And the chorus of Lakmé's** _ **Flower Duet**_ **for when Akko jumps out the window!**

 **Laulink:** **Haha, thank you! And Diana's thirst is the stuff you write epic poetry about!**

 **Shinobukun:** **Thank you, keeping going is the plan, even through Hurricane Irma!**

 **Syaoran Li Clow:** **Good thing witches live so long, cause Diana's gonna need every little bit of it to live past twenty.**

 **Bingobongo:** **And thank you for your beautiful words! I hope you keep enjoying reading it as I am enjoying writing it.**

 **James Birdsong:** **Thank you!**

 **UruruSan:** **Continuing!**

 **electricangel12:** **I've definitely been forced to take my time, but the weather will never hold me down!**

 **Queen Sydon:** **Don't you just love how adorably smug Akko gets despite the fact that nothing ever turns out how she planned? And yes, Amanda's been so much fun to use as an antagonist; poor Diana's gonna go crazy soon, beset on all sides as she is!**


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